Department for Transport

Immigration Controls: Visas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the capacity at (a) airports, (b) sea ports and (c) the Channel Tunnel to establish visa processing for Ukrainian refugees.

Robert Courts: No assessment has been made by this Department. Visa processing arrangements for Ukranian refugees, including the siting of temporary visa application centres, is a decision for the Home Office.

PHI: Canary Wharf

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the ultimate ownership of the yacht, PHI, moored in Canary Wharf, London.

Robert Courts: The Government acted quickly to put shipping sanctions in place in order to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine. We are working closely with partner organisations to ensure that those sanctions are fully and correctly enforced for all ships which may be in scope.

Public Transport: Sexual Harassment

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) bus, (b) taxi and (c) private hire drivers to undertake gender equality training to include training on sexual harassment on public transport.

Trudy Harrison: Everyone has the right to feel safe when travelling and using public spaces and we are determined to improve the safety of our transport network. The Department is working closely with the Home Office on the cross-departmental strategy to address Violence Against Women and Girls. Our National Bus Strategy made clear that the sector should strive for the highest safety standards, upheld by the Traffic Commissioners. The Department was clear that Bus Service Improvement Plans should also demonstrate how Local Transport Authorities and bus operators will work together to ensure that bus services are safe and perceived to be safe by all. Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are licensed by local licensing authorities who are responsible for determining the criteria that must be met in order for them to decide whether a person is 'fit and proper' to hold a licence, including a requirement to pay regard to the need to eliminate conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010. The Department will shortly consult on revised best practice guidance to assist licensing authorities in carrying out their licensing function. We need to ensure that everyone who works on the transport network, particularly front-line staff, knows how to identify and respond to unacceptable behaviour. We will continue working with transport partners to ensure appropriate training is in place and that best practice is shared

East Coast Main Line

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of long distance high speed train services on the East Coast Main Line are delivered by open access operators as of 8 March 2022; and if he will publish details of (a) those services and (b) their capacity as a proportion of total capacity on the East Coast Main Line.

Wendy Morton: On 8 March 2022, open access operators operated 20 per cent of all long distance high speed services from London to the north of England and Scotland using the East Coast Mainline. The Department does not keep records of the amount of capacity provided by open access operators; details of open access services are published in the National Rail timetable and on the operators’ own websites.

Train Operating Companies

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of long distance high speed train services in Great Britain are delivered by open access operators; and if he will publish the proportion of operator capacity currently in use for each of those operators.

Andrew Stephenson: On 8 March 2022, open access operated 4 per cent of long distance high speed services nationally. The Department does not keep records of the amount of capacity provided by open access operators; details of open access services are published in the National Rail timetable and on the operators’ own websites.

Travel: Concessions

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that Ukrainian refugees arriving in the UK are able to access free transport.

Robert Courts: The Department for Transport is considering what can be offered to Ukrainian refugees by way of free travel in Great Britain in line with other government initiatives. We are working closely with other Departments across Government to ensure a joined-up approach to support for refugees in the UK.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jane Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what statutory responsibilities local authorities have for maintaining grass verges.

Trudy Harrison: Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended, to maintain the highways network for which they are responsible, including highway grass verges.

Railways: Safety

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Report 02/2022 - Derailment of a passenger train at Carmont published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch on 10 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Network Rail in ensuring (a) passenger safety and (b) that trains are built and maintained to current regulations; and what plans he has to take steps to assist Network Rail in ensuring all recommendations of that Report are implemented.

Wendy Morton: The derailment at Stonehaven was a tragedy and I am determined that lessons are learned from this accident. I welcome the report and its findings and expect the rail industry to ensure that the recommendations are fully implemented. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent, specialist safety regulator for the railway, is responsible for regulating safety on the railways, including in relation to passenger safety and rolling stock safety. It is leading work with the rail industry, including Network Rail, train operators, owners and health and safety representatives, to discharge its statutory responsibility to ensure that the report’s recommendations are addressed and all necessary improvements are delivered. The ORR has the powers and expertise needed to do this and I fully support the action being taken by the ORR. Network Rail is already taking action to address the recommendations in the report, including work to improve its management of drainage infrastructure. I have received specific assurance that it is taking all necessary steps and that it will find all opportunities to accelerate this work. I will be kept up to date as this important work progresses.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date the full criteria for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will be announced.

Greg Hands: The criteria for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme are specified in the Statutory Instrument which was laid in Parliament on the 24th February 2022:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2022/9780348232349/contents. Further information on the scheme can be found in Ofgem’s consultation on scheme administration, which closed on 27th January 2022:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/consultation-ofgems-administration-boiler-upgrade-scheme,

Flexible Working

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the finding of a recent study by the GMCA that 75 per cent of vacancies make no reference to flexible working in their job descriptions, what steps the Government (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to encourage more businesses to introduce flexible working practices.

Paul Scully: The Government is committed to supporting businesses and individuals to work flexibly. Our consultation on making flexible working the default closed on 1 December 2021, receiving over 1,600 responses. The Government is analysing these responses and will issue its consultation response in due course.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the price that households with solar panels receive for selling energy onto the grid is linked to market cost.

Greg Hands: The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a market-led mechanism, to help level the playing field for small-scale low-carbon generators such as householders with solar panels. It provides a route to market for any excess energy exported to the grid following closure of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme. To enable the SEG to be market based and encourage innovation, one of the key features is to allow suppliers to set both the tariff levels and structure. The contracts that suppliers have with householders are at a set price which is not directly linked to the wholesale market cost.

Housing: Fuels

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information or data his Department records and collates on households that are dependent on oil or LPG and other non-regulated fuels.

Greg Hands: The principal source of information on households off the gas grid is the English Housing Survey and its equivalent surveys in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, which provide data on heating system types and other household characteristics:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-surveyhttps://gov.wales/household-estimateshttps://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-house-condition-survey/https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/northern-ireland-housing-statistics-2020-21.

Fuels: Regulation

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to introduce regulation for unregulated fuels used for domestic heating including oil, LPG, solid fuel and biofuel.

Greg Hands: Network utilities, such as the gas and electricity markets, are considered natural monopolies, characterised by high fixed costs. The heating oil, LPG and solid fuel markets do not share these characteristics, and so are not regulated by Ofgem. The Government keeps the operation of consumer markets under review, but there are no plans for new regulation of these markets.

Fuels

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department and its agencies have to track data regarding domestic fuel use in response to the rise in energy prices.

Greg Hands: The Government is committed to ensuring that support is provided to help consumers deal with the impact of high wholesale energy costs. UK Energy use is regularly published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-trends. This covers energy trends that focus on the supply and demand of coal, oil, gas, electricity and renewables in the United Kingdom.

Energy: Prices

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure older people are not restricted in the choice of options of heating their homes following the increase in fuel and energy costs.

Greg Hands: The Default Tariff (Price) Cap currently protects around 22 million households by limiting the unit rate and standing charges that energy suppliers can charge customers on default or standard variable tariffs. Support is also available to eligible households through the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and Cold Weather Payments. Additionally, this Government will be providing a £200 rebate for households delivered via their energy bill this autumn, paid back automatically over the next 5 years, spreading the increased costs of global prices over time in a way that is more manageable for households. This is only one part of a wider package of measures to support households in 2022/23, including a £150 non-repayable reduction in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England, and £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax reduction. This support is available to customers irrespective of whether or not they are connected to the gas grid.

Housing: Energy

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department collects on fuel and energy use by individual households.

Greg Hands: The Department collects meter point electricity and gas consumption data. This meter point data is published annually in subnational electricity and gas consumption statistics. The data also forms part of the National Energy Efficiency Data-Framework, which provides electricity and gas consumption estimates for different property and household characteristics, and estimated consumption savings arising from installation of different energy efficiency measures. Departmental estimates of domestic consumption are available in Table C9 of Energy Consumption in the UK. These estimates are based on the total amount of energy consumed in the UK divided by the number of households (for electricity consumption) and the number of gas customers (for gas consumption).

Heating: Health

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs) on improving health and wellbeing through the Government's Heat and Buildings Strategy.

Greg Hands: In the Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government noted that improving the energy performance of buildings and installing low carbon heating can deliver benefits in both areas, especially for those living in fuel poverty. For health, it was stated this can include avoiding physical illnesses, such as heart and lung conditions and help those experiencing cold-related sickness. For wellbeing, making energy efficiency improvements can improve mental wellbeing, as it reduces energy costs, as well as increasing productivity by making homes warmer and more comfortable.The Government did not have specific conversations regarding how health and wellbeing is applied within the context of the Heat and Buildings Strategy. The Government is committed to engaging with a range of stakeholders and the wider public to deliver on the Strategy’s ambitions, including health bodies, where appropriate.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to respond to the consultation on Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes.

Greg Hands: The Government committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to improve as many private rental homes as possible to EPC band C by 2030 where practical, affordable and cost effective and consulted on this commitment in the winter of 2020/2021. A response to this consultation will be published in due course.

Natural Gas: Russia

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many kWh of gas imported from Russia is used by the average UK household per year.

Greg Hands: According to the latest data available, in 2020 the average household used around 12,200kWh of gas. In that year less than 3% of UK gas supplies came from Russia via LNG. Once natural gas enters the UK transmission system, it is impossible to identify the distribution of specific molecules.

Natural Gas: Russia

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the level of UK gas imports from Russia over the last five years by (a) percentage and (b) GWh.

Greg Hands: The UK only receives direct gas in the form of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) from Russia, since there are no gas pipelines directly linking the UK with Russia. Over the last five years (2017-2021), UK gas imports from Russia accounted for, on average, 2% of the UK’s gas supply portfolio. On average, over the last five years (2017-2021), the UK received 21506 GWh of LNG from Russia.

Pensions: Russia

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the divestment of the Pension Fund Committee from fossil fuel companies that have links with Russia.

Greg Hands: Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. The latest published data covers July to September 2021. Data for October to December 2021 will be published in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Sustainable Development

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether a senior manager in his Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.

George Freeman: The Government is committed to making its estate and operations more sustainable and resilient. Our Greening Government Commitments set out our ambitions for continuous improvement and are reported every quarter. In the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Greening Government Commitments are led by an appointed minister with support from the Director for Commercial and Operations.

Biotechnology: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will fast-track the funding streams available to the BioYorkshire project to help accelerate the development of biofuel.

George Freeman: Opportunities to apply for funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) are available on the UKRI funding finder (Opportunities – UKRI). On 14 March, we published our R&D allocations to BEIS Partner Organisations to enable them to plan for the next financial year. Details of funding for specific programmes will be agreed by BEIS and Partner Organisations and set out in due course.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Training

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Attorney General, whether her Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.

Alex Chalk: The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues and will be piloted from April 2022. Thereafter, the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit will look at tailored provision for specific Functions and Professions and will signpost resources and training on Net Zero across all Government Departments which will be available to civil servants in the Attorney General’s Office (AGO).

Department of Health and Social Care

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department plans to issue on protecting immunosuppressed and clinically extremely vulnerable people from covid-19 in the workplace after 1 April 2022.

Maggie Throup: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to provide a substantive Answer to Question 80914, tabled on 24 November 2021 by the hon. Member for Halton.

Edward Argar: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Rehabilitation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support community rehabilitation services to deal with additional demand after the covid-19 outbreak.

Gillian Keegan: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hysteroscopy

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to develop national guidelines on the provision of hysteroscopies for investigating suspected gynaecological conditions.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care’s guidelines for heavy menstrual bleeding suggest that hysteroscopy should be used as a diagnostic tool only when ultrasound results are inconclusive, for example, to determine the exact location of a fibroid or the exact nature of the abnormality. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ guidelines outlines best practice in outpatient hysteroscopy and identifies that outpatient treatment has both clinical and economic benefits. The Royal College is updating its clinical guidelines which are expected to be published in 2023.

Endometriosis: Health Services

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what plans his Department has to improve healthcare for women with endometriosis in those areas.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested is not held centrally. Clinical commissioning groups have responsibility for commissioning gynaecological services to meet the needs of the local population, based on demand and demographics. Endometriosis will be a priority area within the menstrual health and gynaecological conditions section of the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy. We aim to publish the Strategy in spring 2022.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Prescriptions

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the consultation between his Department and NHS England on combining the costs for the two hormone replacement therapies, oestrogen and progesterone, into one prescription; and when that policy will be introduced.

Maria Caulfield: Officials have regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement on a range of issues, including whether the cost of two hormone products can be combined into one prescription charge. Work is currently focused on reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy for all patients.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the gender imbalance in the take up of the HPV vaccine in schools between girls and boys.

Maria Caulfield: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was first offered to males in school Year 8 in the 2019/20 academic year. School-aged immunisation providers have been hosting educational activities, such as school assemblies, to educate boys about the benefits of the HPV programme.NHS England’s Regional Public Health Commissioners work with providers and local authorities to identify any inequalities or variations in uptake and coverage and take appropriate action. Continued public and professional communication campaigns for HPV and other vaccinations are planned throughout the year.

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital: Maternity Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to latest annual national Maternity survey, what assessment he has made of the potential improvements that were found in maternity services at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in response to that survey.

Maria Caulfield: The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) 2021 maternity survey involved 122 National Health Service trusts in England and looked at women’s experiences in maternity care, as part of the NHS Patient Survey Programme. Of the 122 trusts, seven, including the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), were identified as performing at a ‘better than expected’ level.The proportion of women who answered positively to questions about the care they received from the SaTH during labour and birth was significantly higher than the average for other trusts in the survey. The results directly reflect the experiences of the women and families the SaTH cares for and builds on the ‘outstanding practice’ in maternity services highlighted in the CQC’s November 2021 inspection of the Trust.Whilst the survey also identified several questions where positive responses have declined on the previous year, these were not statistically worse nationally. The SaTH will use these indicators as a contributory guide to areas where further improvements can be made.

Surgical Mesh Implants: South East

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress has been made in establishing the South East Regional specialist centre for the treatment of women damaged by mesh implants; and whether checks will be carried out to ensure that such women, when seeking remedial treatment from that specialist centre, are not placed in the hands of surgeons who were responsible for (a) implanting the mesh originally, (b) denying that anything had gone wrong with the implants and (c) claiming that women reporting extreme physical pain from the implants were imagining it.

Maria Caulfield: The specialist centre for the South East region based at Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is now accepting referrals and offering treatment to patients who have been adversely affected by mesh implants. The surgery to remove mesh implanted for stress urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse is a relatively new surgical discipline. Expertise is therefore concentrated in a limited number of specialist centres, such as the South East centre, led by a core multi-disciplinary team including consultant specialists in urogynaecology, urology and colorectal surgery. Patients also have access to a team including pelvic floor specialist physiotherapy, psychology, psychosexual counselling, occupational therapy, specialist imaging and pain management services.Patients can discuss their choice of surgeon with the multi-disciplinary team if they have concerns regarding a specific clinician and can also discuss a referral to a surgeon in another specialist mesh centre.

Shingrix

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce Shingrix into the National Immunisation Programme, in line with JCVI recommendations.

Maria Caulfield: Shingrix has been offered to individuals with reduced immune response since September 2021, in line with recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The Department is currently working with the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service to develop implementation plans to support the deployment of Shingrix in the shingles programme.

Shingrix

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce Shingrix into the national immunisation programme.

Maria Caulfield: Shingrix has been offered to individuals with reduced immune response since September 2021, in line with recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The Department is currently working with the UK Health Security Agency and the National Health Service to develop implementation plans to support the deployment of Shingrix in the shingles programme.

Hepatitis: Liver Diseases

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of hepatic encephalopathy in people with current or previous infection with Hepatitis C.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency does not assess trends in hepatic encephalopathy in people with current or previous infection with hepatitis C.

Healthy Start Scheme: Vitamin D

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people eligible under the Healthy Start Scheme redeem their entitlement to free vitamin D supplements.

Maggie Throup: The information requested is not held centrally. Healthy Start beneficiaries are entitled to free Healthy Start vitamin supplements. Pregnant women and new mothers can receive a supplement which contains folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin D. Children under the age of four years old can receive a supplement which contains vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin D.

Coronavirus: Screening

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on introducing charges for lateral flow tests for non-essential workers.

Maggie Throup: From 1 April 2022, free universal access to symptomatic and asymptomatic lateral flow device testing for the general public in England will end. We will continue to provide free testing to a number of at risk groups. Further information on eligible groups will be available in due course.Following discussions with a range of potential retailers, we expect that a private market will develop, allowing people who wish to continue testing to do so.

Probiotics: Labelling

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will change Government guidance to allow use of the term probiotic on food labels of products that contain probiotic microorganisms subject to agreed criteria.

Maggie Throup: Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 governs the use of nutrition and health claims on foods protecting consumers by ensuring any health claims made are backed by substantiated scientific evidence. Under the Regulation, the term ‘probiotic’ is not currently permitted, as this implies it has a relationship to a function of the body. Such claims are required to be evaluated by the UK Nutrition and Health Claims Committee and authorised by the appropriate authority, prior to their use.Applications for the use of health claims can be made to the Department and subject to a positive scientific assessment and risk management decision, authorised as permitted for use. If a successful claim is made, the nutrition and health claims guidance will then be amended.

Hospitals: Food

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken in response to the Independent Hospital Food Review, published in October 2020, to enable easier access by NHS staff to more nutritious food.

Maggie Throup: A three-year plan ‘Great Food, Good Health’, led by NHS England and NHS Improvement, is implementing the remaining recommendations from the Hospital Food Review. NHS England and NHS Improvement have established an expert group of clinicians, dieticians and caterers and revised NHS Food and Drink Standards have been developed. The Standards will reflect that there should be an improved consistency of healthy and nutritious, hot and cold food and drink, 24 hours a day in healthcare sites and how this could be provided.The Health and Care Bill includes a clause which permits the adoption of secondary legislation to implement national standards for food and drink in National Health Service hospitals.

Hospitals: Coronavirus

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of regularly publicising the number of unvaccinated people being admitted to hospital with covid-19 that then requires inpatient admission to help increase the level of vaccine uptake amongst people yet to receive one.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency publishes the vaccination status of those hospitalised on a weekly basis via its surveillance reports. This includes the number of unvaccinated people being admitted to hospital with COVID-19 resulting in overnight inpatient admission and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports

National Radiological Protection Board: Publications

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many copies of the 1988 National Radiological Protection Report Board Report, Mortality and cancer incidence in UK participants in UK atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and experimental programmes, have been published.

Maggie Throup: The UK Health Security Agency does not hold records of the number of individual reports published.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to update its guidance, Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19), to include people who are immunosuppressed or clinically extremely vulnerable.

Maggie Throup: The existing ‘Working Safely’ guidance will be withdrawn from 1 April 2022. The UK Health Security Agency will publish public health advice for employers, describing the actions that employers may take to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections in the workplace.Whilst there will no longer be a requirement for employers to carry out a COVID-19 specific health and safety risk assessment for their workplace, businesses and employers should continue to comply with their existing obligations, including their duty of care to protect the health safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business.

Influenza: Vaccination

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase childhood flu vaccination rates.

Maggie Throup: During the 2021/22 flu season, over 3.8 million school-aged children had been vaccinated by the end of January 2022. We have begun planning for the 2022/23 flu season to further increase uptake. We are working with regional commissioning teams, school-aged providers, schools and primary care providers, in addition to collaborating with COVID-19 vaccination teams to consider where those successes can be applied to the seasonal flu programme. In addition to the targeted work of locally commissioned services to meet the needs and challenges of their local populations, communications will be developed to reach all eligible groups.

Electronic Cigarettes: Sales

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure small convenience stores adhere to strict age verification standards for the sale of e-cigarettes; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement measures as a deterrent.

Maggie Throup: The Government provides central funding to local authorities in support of local trading standards activity. It is for local authorities to decide how this funding is allocated across local services, including how to combat the underage sale of e-cigarettes. The Department also commissions the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to publish annual tobacco control surveys on trading standards activities. The Department provides advice for small businesses on compliance with age of sale requirements via the Business Companion website.We believe that the current enforcement measures are proportionate. However, we will continue to monitor the evidence regarding underage or illegal sales.

Coronavirus: Screening

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the process accessing covid-19 lateral flow test packs changed from collection from pharmacies to a digitally registered collection code based system; who stores the personal data collected at registration for a test pack collection code; for what purposes that data is collected; and what equality impact assessment his Department conducted on the rollout of a digitally registered collection code based system.

Maggie Throup: The collect code in pharmacies was introduced in October 2021 to allow greater traceability of tests in the case of a recall. Personal data is collected and stored by the UK Health Security Agency in accordance with its information governance processes. In addition to traceability, this data is used to monitor geographic distribution, assess the performance of the pharmacy collect channel and issue reminders to the collector to register results.An equality impact assessment was completed prior to launching the collect code. This considered the risks and impact with mitigating actions to allow easy access to tests. For those unable to use or without access to the internet or mobile devices, the option to pre-register for tests via 119 was provided. We also maintained the option of collecting tests without pre-registering.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his latest guidance is on steps to take to reduce covid-19 transmission in (a) York and (b) other areas with high infection rates.

Maggie Throup: We have provided guidance on measures to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19, which includes advice on vaccination, face coverings, meeting people safely, testing and self-isolation. The guidance on these measures is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Coronavirus: Screening

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether small businesses are able and/or entitled to obtain free or subsidised covid-19 lateral flow tests.

Maggie Throup: The offer of tests to most workplaces ended in England at the end of July 2021. Employers were encouraged to direct their employees to order home tests from GOV.UK, collect from local pharmacies or order by calling 119. Free tests are available to employees of small businesses through these direct channels.

Blood Cancer: Health Professions

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of haematological workforce shortages on patient outcome and experience.

Edward Argar: The Department has made no such assessment.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he intends to respond to the correspondence from the Member for High Peak, dated 6 January 2022, reference RL31099.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 15 March 2022.

General Practitioners: Prescriptions

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to limit the over-prescription of medication by GPs to patients judged to be at risk from them.

Edward Argar: It is for a general practitioner or other responsible clinician to work with their patient to determine the most clinically appropriate treatment for the individual. In September 2021, we published a review of over-prescribing ‘Good for you, good for us, good for everybody’. It sets out actions to reduce patient harm by reducing unnecessary prescribing. A three-year national over-prescribing programme is being established to lead on implementation of the 20 recommendations in the review.NHS England and NHS Improvement are implementing the recommendations in ‘Dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines: An evidence review’, published in September 2019 by the former Public Health England. A framework for action is also being developed to support integrated care systems and partners to optimise the delivery of personalised care for patients at risk of or experiencing prescribed drugs dependence or withdrawal.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 21 January 2022, referenced RL30126.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 14 March 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Sustainable Development

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a senior manager in his Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.

Edward Argar: The Government is committed to making its estate and operations more sustainable and resilient, through the Greening Government Commitments. We report on Commitments every quarter. In the Department, this is led by senior officials.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire dated 13 October 2021 regarding student nursing funding, reference ZA57966, which was transferred to his department from the Department for Education.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire dated 13 October 2021 and transferred to his Department from the Department for Education on 30 November 2021, reference ZA57966.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 10 March 2022.

General Practitioners: Out-patients

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact on general practice of transferring hospital outpatient elective follow-ups to general practice; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement launched the National Outpatient Transformation Programme in April 2020. The programme supports patients through improving general practitioners’ access to specialist advice and guidance and empowering patients to initiate follow-up appointments when needed.However, its aim is not to transfer hospital outpatient elective follow up appointments to general practice. NHS England and NHS Improvement commissioned an independent evaluation to review primary care experiences of advice and guidance services. While qualitative reports showed that it placed time and resource demands on primary care, it can reduce waiting times for specialist input and unnecessary referrals.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more in Emergency Departments from time of arrival; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Argar: NHS England and NHS Improvement publish the number of patients spending over 12 hours in accident and emergency (A&E) from arrival on an annual basis. In 2020/21, 302,784 patients in England spent over 12 hours in A&E from time of arrival.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will reply to theletters of 20December 2021and 8 February 2022 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of myconstituentRachael Craggs.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 15 March 2022.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for High Peak of 7 January 2022, with reference RL31874.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 11 March 2022.

Dentistry: EU Countries

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the date from which EU-qualified dentists will be required to take additional examinations in order to gain admittance to General Dental Council (GDC) so that students who began studying dentistry prior to the referendum on the UK leaving the EU are able to gain automatic admittance to the GDC as anticipated.

Edward Argar: Automatic recognition arrangements are in place for relevant dental qualifications obtained in the European Economic Area and Switzerland for a period of 24 months from the end of the transition period, or 48 months for Swiss qualifications.The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is required to carry out a statutory review of these arrangements after the 24-month period. This review will be conducted at the start of 2023. Automatic recognition of qualifications will continue until further legislation is introduced to amend or end these arrangements.

Care Workers: Migrant Workers

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many care workers in the UK are not British citizens.

Gillian Keegan: The Department does not hold citizenship data for care workers in the United Kingdom. However, Skills for Care’s data on the estimated proportion of the adult social care workforce by nationality and job role, shows that in 2020/21, 19% of care workers were of non-British nationality.

Disability Aids: Children

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the £10 billion in extra funding provided as part of covid-19 recovery planning will tackle the waiting times for disabled children to receive an equipment assessment; and what estimate he has made of the timeframe in which those waiting times will be reduced.

Gillian Keegan: In 2021/22, we have made £2 billion available and a further £8 billion from April 2022 to March 2025 to increase activity and reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million more checks, scans and procedures and deliver 30% more elective activity by 2024/25.NHS England and NHS Improvement published the ‘Community health services prioritisation framework’ on 11 January 2022. This sets an expectation that community health services, including therapy services and the provision of wheelchairs, orthotics, prosthetics and equipment for children and young people which have been delayed or paused as a result of COVID-19, should resume from 1 March 2022. Additionally, the ‘2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance’, published in December 2021, includes a requirement for systems to develop and agree a plan for reducing community service waiting lists. Systems and providers have been asked to ensure that no-one is waiting for longer than 104 weeks for elective care by July 2022 and eliminate waiting times of over 78 weeks by April 2023, except where patients choose to wait longer or in specific specialities.

Pharmacy: Closures

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish details of the temporary community pharmacy closures in each Clinical Commissioning Group area for each year since 2010 including the (a) date of closure, (b) reason for closure and (c) date of reopening.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish a list of all community pharmacies that have closed permanently in each year since 2010 by (a) clinical commissioning group, (b) date of closure and (c) reason for closure.

Maria Caulfield: Information on temporary closures of community pharmacies is not held centrally. Information on permanent closures of community pharmacies is not held in the format requested. The NHS Business Service Authority holds information on pharmacy contracts rather than pharmacy premises. The closure of a contract does not necessarily mean that the pharmacy has closed. The reason for the change of contract is not recorded and information is not held for each clinical commissioning group.

Building the Right Support Delivery Board

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Building the Right Support Delivery Board.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide details of the membership of the Building the Right Support Delivery Board.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times the Building the Right Support Delivery Board has met since 3 February 2021; and on how many times a Minister has attended those meetings.

Gillian Keegan: The Building the Right Support Delivery Board has commissioned new work, including the rapid review into funding flows and is overseeing the development of the Building the Right Support Action Plan. The Board meets quarterly and as of 15 March 2022, has met three times since 3 February 2021. A Minister has attended every Board meeting to date. The membership of the Building the Right Support Delivery Board is as follows:- President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services;- President of the Association of Directors of Children's Services;- Chair of the Association of Directors of Children's Services' Health, Care and Additional Needs Policy Committee;- Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, Care Quality Commission;- Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, Care Quality Commission;- Deputy Director – Policy and Advocacy, Children’s Commissioner;- Chair of the Children and Young People’s Steering Group;- Chair of the Independent Care (Education) Treatment Reviews Oversight Panel;- Co-chairs of the Advisory Group of people with lived experience;- Director of Strategy, Social Mobility and Disadvantage, Department for Education;- Director for Mental Health and Disabilities, Department of Health and Social Care;- Chief Social Worker, Department of Health and Social Care;- Deputy Director of Neurodiversity, Disability and Learning Disability, Department of Health and Social Care;- Deputy Director Operational Research and Statistician, Department of Health and Social Care;- Deputy Director of Housing with Care and Support, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities;- Chief Nurse, Health Education England;- Deputy Chief Executive, Local Government Association;- Deputy Director of Female Offenders and Health Policy, Ministry of Justice;- National Director of Learning Disability and Autism, NHS England & Improvement;- National Clinical Director for Learning Disabilities and Autism, NHS England & Improvement;- National Director of Policy, NHS England & Improvement;- Autism Programme Director, NHS England & Improvement;- Head of Children and Young people, NHS England & Improvement;- National Director for Social Care, Ofsted;- Association for Real Change, Representative from the Provider Group;- Care England, Representative from the Provider Group;- Learning Disability England, Representative from the Provider Group;- Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, Representative from the Provider Group;- Health and Wellbeing Alliance, Representative from the Voluntary and Community Sector; and- Chief Executive Officer, Skills for Care.

Wales Office

Places for Growth Programme: Wales

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the progress of the Places for Growth programme.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including the Places for Growth programme. The Places for Growth programme is delivering the UK Government’s commitment to move 22,000 Civil Service roles and 50% of UK-based Senior Civil Service roles, out of Greater London by 2030. Wales has already benefitted from this work including the establishment of a Trade Hub for Wales and a dedicated DLUHC Wales area team based in the UK Government’s Cardiff Hub (Ty William Morgan). Furthermore, as detailed in the Levelling Up White Paper, Wales will benefit from the relocation of around 500 non-operational Ministry of Justice roles to sites including Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham.

Wales Office: Training

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.

Simon Hart: Yes. The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for government. In the first phase, the Government Skills & Curriculum Unit (GSCU) is working with other Departments (including BEIS, DEFRA and FCDO) to create an awareness level training resource for all civil servants. This will be piloted from April 2022. In the next phases, GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific Functions and Professions and will signpost the training and other resources on Net Zero, which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels by Government Departments.

Food Supply: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the effect on food supply to (a) Wales and (b) Newport West constituency of the invasion of Ukraine.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with colleagues in Welsh Government on a wide range of subjects. The Minister for Farming, Fisheries and Food recently met with her Devolved Administrations counterparts to discuss the implications of the ongoing Ukraine crisis on EFRA sectors, including supply chains. With regard to food supply and commodities, our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low and we do not expect significant direct impacts on UK food supply. However, the UK Government has been engaging with industry and the devolved administrations to fully understand the impact of the Russian invasion on individual industries and supply chains and will continue to monitor the situation.

Food Supply: Wales

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues on the effect on food supply to (a) Wales and (b) Newport West constituency of the invasion of Ukraine.

Simon Hart: I have regular discussions with cabinet colleagues on a wide range of subjects, including the conflict in Ukraine and the effect on food supply. With regard to food supply and commodities, our food import dependency on the Eastern Europe region is very low and we do not expect significant direct impacts on UK food supply. However, the UK Government has been engaging with industry to fully understand the impact of the Russian invasion on individual industries and supply chains and will continue to monitor the situation.

Department for Education

Disability Aids: Children

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to distribute documentation to all local authorities in England to reiterate their duty to (a) assess children in need and (b) provide equipment based on the findings of that assessment.

Will Quince: The department has published statutory guidance (Working Together to Safeguard Children), for all local authorities in England setting out the duties for assessment of children in need, including requirements for the publication of threshold documents and the framework for assessments. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. The guidance is clear that such assessments should focus on outcomes, providing clear decisions on which services and support should be provided to improve the welfare of the child. Guidance is clear that, for disabled children, this includes provision of special equipment under Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. On 15 December 2021, Ministers from the Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Security and the Home Office sent a joint letter to all local safeguarding partners (including local authority chief executives) to re-emphasise their roles in safeguarding children as set out in Working Together.

Children: Social Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on local authorities of the mandatory legal duty to provide early help.

Will Quince: Under the Children Act 1989, local authorities are required to provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting their welfare. The statutory guidance, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is clear that local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address needs early. The ‘Local Government Finance Settlement’ made available £54.1 billion for the 2022/23 financial year for local government in England, an increase of up to £3.7 billion, over 4.5% in real terms, on the 2021/22 financial year.This significant investment includes over £630 million additional funding for the social care grant, bringing the total grant to £2.4 billion. In addition, local authorities will have access to a one-off Services Grant in the 2022/23 financial year which is worth over £800 million that can be used for all services, including children’s social care.

Children: Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Local Government Association's projection that the cost of children’s social care will increase by an estimated £600 million each year until 2024-25, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to local authorities in response to that projection.

Will Quince: In recent years, the government has boosted real-terms funding to local authorities, including creating the social care grant which has increased significantly from £410 million in 2019 to £1.7 billion this current financial year. In total, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion for the financial year 2022/23, an increase of up to £3.7 billion in 2021/22. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that the government is providing councils with £4.8 billion of new grant funding over the Spending Review period to 2025. This will enable the sector to maintain vital frontline services, including children’s social care. This means for the next financial year (2022/23), the government is providing over £630 million additional funding into the social care grant, bringing the grant total to over £2.3 billion. The government is also providing a one-off Services Grant in the financial year 2022/23 which is worth over £800 million that can be used for all services, including children’s social care. Further, the government has provided an additional £200 million for Supporting Families announced at the Budget and Spending Round 2021. This represents around a 40% real-terms uplift in funding for the programme by the financial year 2024/25, taking total planned investment across the next three years to £695 million.

Music: Education

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to distribute its annual funding grants for Music Education Hubs for the financial year 2022-23; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the financial sustainability of music education hubs which are awaiting grant funding for the financial year 2022-23.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to inform music education hubs of the amount of grant funding they will be receiving for the financial year 2022-23; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: The government remains committed to continued support for music education. Following the Spending Review settlement, the department announced that we will continue to invest around £115 million per annum in cultural education over the next three years, through our music, arts and heritage programmes including music hubs, working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and others. Our partner organisations, including Arts Council England, the fundholder for music education hubs, will be updated shortly to confirm funding allocations for financial year 2022/23 following the outcome of the department’s business planning. For financial year 2021/22 the department provided £79 million for the music education hubs programme. The department’s grant constitutes around 40% of income on average, with remaining income primarily being provided from parental and school contributions.

Children: Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Reporting Year 2021, Children's social work workforce, published 24 February 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of child social care in response to the 4,995 social workers who left their roles in 2021; and what steps his Department is taking to (a) retain current social workers and (b) help ensure that the 6,522 vacant positions are filled.

Will Quince: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England is increasing every year. On 30 September 2021, there were 32,500 FTE child and family social workers employed by local authorities in England. This is an increase of 2% compared to 2020, and an increase of 14.1% compared to 2017. It is important to note that the 4,995 social workers who left their roles in 2021 includes all social workers who have moved between local authorities but are still working in children’s social care. While the government recognises this may not be the picture some local authorities are seeing on the ground, we are working closely with local authorities and using central programmes and funding to respond to their needs. The department is supporting the recruitment and retention of social workers through investment in fast-track initial social worker training programmes, and in professional development programmes to improve leadership. The department is also seeing some innovative practices from local authorities that are driving down agency rates and stabilising their workforces. The government’s COVID-19 Recovery Action Plan aims to stabilise and strengthen children’s social care as we transition out of the pandemic, to deliver well for children and young people and provide a strong foundation for longer-term reform, informed by the independent review of children’s social care.

Training: Regional Planning and Development

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to table 2.3 in the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, what steps he is taking to help ensure that local authorities that fall under level one devolution plans are able to feed local skills needs into the development of LSIPs.

Alex Burghart: The Levelling Up White Paper sets out how local areas with devolved adult education functions and the core adult education budget provide input into Local Skills Improvement Plans. The department will also encourage other local authorities to share relevant local knowledge and intelligence with employer representative bodies that can inform the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans. The department will set out our expectations for engagement with relevant parties in statutory guidance.

Children: Social Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of Action for Children’s report Too Little Too Late on (a) early help and (b) early intervention funding.

Will Quince: The Too Little, Too Late report recommends an increase in funding for a range of early intervention services. In the Budget and Spending Review 2021, the government announced a £500 million package for families. This includes £300 million to transform Start for Life services, and to create a network of family hubs in half of council areas in England. The package also includes a £200 million uplift to the Supporting Families Programme (SFP). The additional SFP funding represents around a 40% real terms uplift for the programme by the 2024/25 financial year. This takes total planned investment across the next three years to £695 million. This funding will help up to 300,000 more families facing multiple, interconnected issues to access effective whole-family support. It will improve their life outcomes and will begin to reduce the pressure on expensive, reactive statutory services, as the system starts to rebalance away from intervening at crisis point. The report’s recommendations on a legal duty for early help and additional data collection on early help will be considered as part of the department’s response to the independent review of children’s social care.

Pupils: Learning Disability

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in state schools have a specific learning difficulty.

Will Quince: In January 2021, the number of children attending state schools where their primary special educational need was recorded as a specific learning difficulty is 156,797, and those where it was recorded as a secondary need is 27,237.

Special Educational Needs: Reviews

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government will publish the delayed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Review.

Will Quince: The outcome of the SEND Review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation by the end of March.

Adoption Support Fund

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to extend the Adoption Support Fund to aid the recruitment and retention of foster carers and the children's home workforce.

Will Quince: The adoption support fund (ASF) was developed to provide vital therapeutic interventions for children that have left the care system through adoption or special guardianship orders. The ASF does not provide funding for any type of recruitment activity. However, the department has invested in different approaches to help councils provide the right kind of foster care places. This includes using digital tools to improve information sharing, matching and placement processes. The department has also funded seven local authority-led partnerships to test new approaches to collaborative commissioning and sufficiency planning for fostering placements. In addition, the department is working collaboratively with the residential childcare sector to identify ways to support it to promote careers in the sector, and how it can raise the profile of these roles locally.

Children: Social Services

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Ofsted report on inspections on 5 and 6 January 2022 relating to Achieve Care Homes Limited, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) potential merits of strengthening regulations on child social care providers and (b) role of profit-making companies in the provision of children's social care.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to reform the Care Standards Act to improve the oversight and checks of providers of child social care.

Will Quince: Ensuring that vulnerable children remain protected is a top priority for this government. There is a rigorous Ofsted inspection regime in place for the inspection and monitoring of children’s homes, enabling Ofsted to take action when standards are not met. However, we should always look to improve the system. The department will consider the recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who have been examining the lack of availability and increasing costs in children’s social care provision. The CMA published its report and recommendations on 10 March 2022. The department also expects the Independent Care Review to make recommendations on how to make social care system work better to safeguard and improve the lives of vulnerable children.

Russia: Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has issued guidance to teachers on teaching pupils about the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and what steps his Department is taking to help protect young people from disinformation about the conflict in that country.

Mr Robin Walker: The situation in Ukraine and Russia will continue to change over the coming days/weeks and children and young people may have questions or be seeking reassurance. The department knows that schools are well equipped to talk to pupils about images they are seeing and help navigate the concepts and issues this brings up. On 25 February 2022, the department posted on ‘The Education Hub’, providing help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation. This post is available here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/25/help-for-teachers-and-families-to-talk-to-pupils-about-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-and-how-to-help-them-avoid-misinformation/?utm_source=1%20March%202022%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19.

Ministry of Justice

Human Rights Act 1998

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy not to respond to his Department's consultation on proposals to reform the Human Rights Act 1998 until after the deadline for those responding who are assisted by an easy read or audio version.

James Cartlidge: We will not respond to our consultation on Human Rights Act reform until after the extension for those who would be assisted by an easy read or audio version has passed.

Prisoners on Remand

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he taking to reduce the number of people held on remand for more than six months.

James Cartlidge: The difficult decision to suspend jury trials for a short period in 2020 and our reduced capacity within the confines of social distancing meant that the number of people held on remand increased during the pandemic.However, our decisive action in the courts – such as removing the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit this financial year – has kept justice moving in the face of an unprecedented pandemic.We have already taken steps to address delays, including: delivering 60 Nightingale rooms by the end of March 2021, 32 of which handle Crown Court cases; retaining 30 Nightingale courtrooms to March 2023; and installing video link equipment in courtrooms across all jurisdictions.We have also reopened courtroom custody suites to their full capacity, allowing more trials involving prisoners who are being held on remand to take place on the same day.Judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving Custody Time Limits to ensure they are listed at the first available opportunity, as well as prioritising cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses (including youth cases), domestic abuse and serious sex cases.

Prisoners: Sexual Offences

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences were held in a category D open prison in each year between 1997 and 2010.

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences were held in a category D open prison in each year between 2007 and 2010.

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many requests were denied by his Department for the transfer of prisoners convicted of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences to category D open prisons in each year between 1997 and 2010.

Victoria Atkins: The Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of prisoners convicted of (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences who were held in a category D open prison in each year between 1997 and 2010. This can be viewed in the attached table. The required dates for PQ135716 (between 2007 and 2010) are a subset of the data required for PQ135715 and so are contained within the same attachment.For prisoners serving indeterminate sentences, the data requested to answer question 3 is not held as it pre-dates current casework systems which came into use in 2010.table (xlsx, 16.2KB)

Prison Sentences

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case R v Jones [2020] EWCA Crim 764 in respect of the sentences of offenders who due to the covid-19 outbreak were imprisoned under conditions different from those under which they were originally sentenced.

James Cartlidge: Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts having regard to any guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council. The judgment in R v Jones on 20 June 2020 reflects the earlier judgment given in the case of R v Christopher Manning [2020]. Noting that, in accordance with established principles, the courts “will take into account the likely impact of a custodial sentence upon an offender”, the Court of Appeal in R v Manning acknowledged the impact of covid-19 on prisons and observed that the courts should “keep in mind that the impact of a custodial sentence is likely to be heavier during the current emergency than it would otherwise be.” On 23 June 2020 the Sentencing Council published “The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency” The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency – Sentencing (sentencingcouncil.org.uk).

Bill of Rights

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that the rights of more vulnerable citizens are protected when replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 with the proposed Bill of Rights.

James Cartlidge: We have discussed our proposals with groups representing vulnerable members of society throughout the consultation process and further such engagement is planned. Under a Bill of Rights, the rights currently set out in the Human Rights Act will be protected for all UK citizens, with redress available in UK courts. When our proposals are fully developed, and once all responses to the consultation have been considered, we will conduct and publish an equality impact assessment.

Damages: Reform

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if the Government will publish all documents, including copies of emails, letters and minutes of meetings, in respect of its consideration of reform of bereavement damages.

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of bereavement damages.

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which stakeholders his Department has engaged with as part of its review of bereavement damages.

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the law on bereavement compensation for unmarried fathers.

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether the legislation on bereavement compensation in Scotland has resulted in (a) disputes between defendants and bereaved families in claims for compensation, (b) investigations into the proximity of relationships and (b) an effect on the cost of legal claims for bereavement compensation.

Tom Pursglove: The Government considered the case for reform of bereavement damages when responding, in February 2020, to a report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. That response document set out the Government’s position, and we have no plans to publish any additional material.

Judiciary: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of the costs of the different types of training offered at the Judicial College.

James Cartlidge: To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College. The judiciary with support of the professional staff, in the Judicial College are responsible for the design, content, and delivery of judicial training. The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for the provision of judicial training within the resources provided by the Lord Chancellor. The overall budget and details of training activities can be found in the Judicial College Annual Activities Report. This is available publicly, and a copy of the most recent report covering 2020-21 has been placed in the library of the House.

Judiciary: Training

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Judicial College is taking to train judicial officers and staff to handle cases of domestic abuse with an appropriate level of sensitivity and awareness.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the content is of the training offered by the Judicial College to Courts judicial office holders on serious sexual offences and the July 2020 supplementary training on domestic abuse.

James Cartlidge: The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College. Judicial training in domestic abuse, including domestic violence, is included in family law and criminal courses run by the Judicial College. All judges must complete their induction training before they can hear such cases. In July 2020, additional digital training was rolled out on domestic abuse for all family judges. This has subsequently been updated, with refreshed digital training packages rolled out for all family judges and magistrates in October 2021. Further, the College is delivering follow-on training family and civil judges in the 22/23 training year, including training on the Domestic Abuse Act. The training reflects the wide nature of domestic abuse and covers all forms of abuse recognised by the Government, ranging from physical abuse including serious sexual and other assaults, emotional and psychological abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, including financial coercion and control. Judges hearing serious sexual offences cases must be specifically authorised to do so, and a condition of that authorisation is that they must meet relevant training commitments. This involves induction training followed by ongoing training. The training covers topics such as cross-examination, vulnerable witnesses, consent and sentencing matters. The Judicial College is not responsible for training court staff.

Judges: Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total expenses claimed by UK judges relating to their service in the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal were on (a) flights, (b) accommodation, (c) subsistence and (d) any additional expenses relating to their service on Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.

James Cartlidge: The flights and other expenses incurred by UK Supreme Court justices for their sittings on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal are settled directly by the Hong Kong Court. The UK Supreme Court holds no information about expenses related to justices sitting in Hong Kong, nor do they have information about fees or expenses for retired UK judges that sit on the Hong Kong Court.

Domestic Abuse: Prosecutions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of domestic abuse prosecutions in the last 12 months.

Tom Pursglove: Offences involving domestic abuse are prosecuted under the offence in law that best reflects their nature and circumstances and therefore domestic abuse offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of specific offences. For example, assault occasioning actual bodily harm could include cases of domestic abuse. Therefore, it is not possible to disaggregate offences involving domestic abuse from their broader offences as legally defined. Specific details to identify individual domestic abuse offences may be held on court record, but to identify them would require a manual search of court records and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions for common assault offences (2010 – 2020) in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a breakdown of what the £200 million allocated by his Department to be spent on prisoner rehabilitation each year by 2024-25 will be spent on; and how that spending will be measured.

Victoria Atkins: As set out in our Prisons Strategy White Paper, we are building on the £50 million investment made in 2021 by spending £200 million a year by 2024-25 on reducing reoffending. We will spend this on improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation, by transforming education in prisons and how we get offenders into work, substance misuse treatment and further measures for early intervention to tackle youth offending. We will set plans out in further detail when our Outcome Delivery Plan 2022-25 is published, in the coming months.

Treasury

Cost of Living: Rural Areas

Fay Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support rural residents with the expected increase in cost of living.

Mr Simon Clarke: The Government is providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households with rising energy bills. The Government’s Plan for Jobs is also helping people into work and giving them the skills they need to progress – the best approach to managing the cost of living in the long term. We are building on the success of the Plan for Jobs, investing more than £6 billion on labour market support over three years. In addition to this, we are increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 6.6% to £9.50 in April 2022 for those aged 23 and over, which will mean a full-time worker on the NLW will see an increase in their earnings of over £1,000 a year.

Cost of Living

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake an impact assessment of the increasing cost of energy, food and fuel on families with average and low incomes.

Mr Simon Clarke: The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for the calculation of consumer price indices (CPI). On 28 January 2022, the ONS restarted publication of CPI inflation broken down by income, having previously suspended this due to the unavailability of many items for price quotes during the pandemic. The ONS find that high-income and low-income households have experienced similar annual inflation rates since 2014. This publication looks at CPI up to December 2021, and we recognise that since then there have been increasing pressures, particularly for lower- and middle-income households, as a result of rising energy prices and high inflation. We understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, and that a range of factors mean individuals may experience cost rises differently. We are providing support worth over £20 billion across this financial year and next that will help families with the cost of living. This includes the £9.1 billion package announced in February 2022 to help households, in particular lower- and middle-income households, with rising energy bills.

Child Benefit

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to ensure the equity of the High Income Child Benefit charge for single income households in the context of the application of that charge to households with two incomes below the threshold.

Lucy Frazer: The Government introduced the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) from January 2013 to ensure that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The tax charge applies to anyone with an individual income over £50,000 who claims Child Benefit, or whose partner claims it, regardless of family make-up. HICBC is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other income tax policy. Basing HICBC on household incomes would mean finding out the incomes of everyone in each of the 7.8 million households currently registered for Child Benefit. This would effectively introduce a new means test, which would be costly to administer and create burdens on the majority of families who receive Child Benefit. The Government has no current plans to review HICBC but, as with all elements of tax policy, keeps this under review as part of the annual Budget process.

Cars: VAT

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether specialist covered car transport companies can access temporary export arrangements for cars being transported into the EU and back to avoid having to pay VAT on the goods on export and then reclaim the same VAT on the return leg.

Lucy Frazer: Where goods, including specialist cover cars, are moved from the UK, they will be free of UK tax and duty on export. Goods exported temporarily may not need to pay VAT when returning to the UK. The goods may be eligible for Returned Goods Relief, which provides relief from import VAT and any customs duty on re-imported goods, provided the conditions are met. These include that the goods are returned within 3 years of export in an unaltered state and under the same ownership. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-less-import-duty-and-vat-when-re-importing-goods-to-the-uk-and-eu. Goods temporarily exported from the UK may be eligible for the EU’s Temporary Admissions procedure, a customs facilitation which allows temporary imports without payment of EU import duties, including VAT. ATA Carnets may also be an option. These simplify customs processes and allows goods to be imported into the EU without the payment of duty. ATA Carnets are issued by the London Chamber of Commerce in the UK.

Research: Tax Allowances

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what value of fraudulently claimed R&D tax relief HMRC has recovered in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: Information regarding additional tax revenue generated by HMRC’s compliance activity is available within HMRC’s annual report and accounts.In addition, HMRC publish details about the Tax Under Consideration (TUC) in compliance cases broken down by risk heading: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021/customer-compliance-our-approach-to-tax-compliance-and-large-businesses. This shows that HMRC currently has £655,181,793 TUC in relation to R&D risk. HMRC do not break down the level of compliance activity between fraudulent behaviours and other types of non-compliance, such as error or mistake despite taking reasonable care.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Deidre Brock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to accelerate humanitarian aid to Ukraine in line with the World Customs Organisation recommendations on forwarding of relief consignments in the event of disasters.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether humanitarian relief to Ukraine is being treated as non-commercial goods to ensure delivery is expedited.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC is taking to reduce the documentary requirements for delivering aid to Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Lucy Frazer: The Government strongly recommends that, wherever possible, organisations and people who would like to help should donate cash rather than donating goods. This can be done through the Disasters Emergency Committee campaign and other trusted charities and humanitarian aid organisations. Cash can be transferred quickly to areas where it is needed, and individuals and aid organisations can use it to buy what is most needed. However, the Government recognises that many individuals and organisations have already worked hard within their communities to collect aid and wish to see those donations reach those in need as quickly as possible. That is why we have introduced a customs easement to help ensure humanitarian aid goods sent to support those affected by the Ukraine crisis are fast-tracked. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/taking-humanitarian-aid-out-of-great-britain-to-support-ukraine.

National Savings and Investments: Internet

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve the National Savings and Investments website's accessibility for blind users of that website.

John Glen: NS&I’s website is designed to be used by as many people as possible, including users with visual impairments. NS&I uses the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to test how accessible its websites and mobile applications are, as well as the Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) approach to decide on a sample of web pages to test NS&I’s websites and mobile applications are currently partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. NS&I is working hard to address areas that do not meet this standard. NS&I is also making improvements to two-factor authentication on its website. As part of making these changes, NS&I conducted accessibility testing with users, including those with visual impairments, and implemented additional accessibility support measures. If a customer with a visual impairment requires information on the website in a different format such as large print, audio recording or braille, then they can contact NS&I’s call centre teams for assistance.

Car Allowances

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing Mileage Allowance Payments in the context of the recent increase in petrol and diesel prices.

Helen Whately: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens. Organisations are not required to use the AMAPs rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising. Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. However, if the payment exceeds the amount due under AMAPs, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference. The Government keeps this policy under review.

Car Allowances

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to review mileage allowance payments in response to rising fuel prices.

Helen Whately: The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens. Organisations are not required to use the AMAPs rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising. Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. However, if the payment exceeds the amount due under AMAPs, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference. The Government keeps this policy under review.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Chagos Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, in the context of the recent raising of the Mauritian flag over the Chagos Islands, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with native Chagossians settled in the UK to help share their perspectives.

Amanda Milling: Chagossians in the UK, Mauritius and Seychelles have voiced their displeasure at this provocative stunt undertaken by the Government of Mauritius. We regularly meet Chagossians both in the UK and Mauritius and are working with them to progress a support package worth approximately £40 million (announced in November 2016). This provides Chagossians in the UK, Mauritius and Seychelles with support in education, health, social and cultural activities.

Honey: Pitcairn Islands

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential merits of promoting the import of honey from the Pitcairn Islands.

Amanda Milling: Pitcairn's disease free bee population has resulted in the production of high quality honey which is exported across the globe. While no recent assessment of promoting this excellent local produce has taken place, the Government did fund an apiculture programme for Pitcairn in 1998 which included an analysis of the bees and honey production. In addition, part of an ongoing Defra-funded Darwin Plus project is advising the Pitcairn Government on improving biosecurity to reduce the risk of invasive species impacting honey production. The UK remains committed to supporting the people of the Pitcairn Islands and maximising opportunities for economic development. The FCDO funds the shipping service, which allows access to Pitcairn Islands and for goods to be exported.

Palestinians: Newspaper Press

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the Palestinian Authority, whether her Department has raised concerns with representatives of the Authority about an article in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on 5 April 2021 referring to the Park Hotel suicide bombers as self-sacrificing and heroic.

Amanda Milling: Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle any language and actions that could incite violence or hatred. We continue to urge the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, any type of action and language that makes it more difficult to achieve a negotiated solution to the conflict.

Russia: Sanctions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the sanctions regime against Russia; and what steps her Department is taking to strengthen that regime.

James Cleverly: We have now sanctioned over 1000 Russian individuals and entities, made possible by the passing of the Economic Crime Act on 15 March, which is enabling us to crack down harder and faster on dirty money and those who support President Putin. We will continue to isolate Putin's regime, and all those close to him, who are responsible for this appalling attack on Ukraine. We will not rest until Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is restored. These sanctions send a clear message that nothing and no one is off the table.

Development Aid

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer to Question 45069 on 13 September 2021 on Palestinians: Overseas Aid, for what reason her Department does not publish Partnership Principles Assessments.

Amanda Milling: In line with our transparency commitment policy, the FCDO publishes Memorandums of Understanding and Annual Programme Reviews for programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on DevTracker. We do not publish Partnership Principles Assessments. We have an active dialogue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) on issues relating to the 'partnership principles' and assess that the PA continues to demonstrate a credible commitment to our agreements.

Yazidis: Missing Persons

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with its international counterparts to help trace missing Yazidi women.

Amanda Milling: The UK supports the implementation of Iraq's Yazidi Survivors law of March 2021 and we engage regularly with partner governments, NGOs, survivor networks and Iraqi Government ministries to advocate for full financial provision of the law. Through UK support to the International Organisation for Migration, we provide technical and practical assistance to the Directorate of Yazidi Survivor Affairs, whose mandate includes searching for missing survivors. UK programme funding also supports psycho-social care for female survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. We have contributed £2 million to the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Daesh (UNITAD), whose work in gathering evidence of crimes, including against minority communities, we continue to champion.

South Korea: Elections

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the outcome of the recent South Korean presidential election on her foreign policy priorities.

Amanda Milling: The UK is a close friend of the Republic of Korea. We are both free and open societies with vibrant democracies and a shared commitment to upholding global security, democratic principles and the rule of law. The Foreign Secretary looks forward to working together with President Elect Yoon Suk-Yeol and his administration to cement our ties, as we work together internationally to uphold our shared values.

Ukraine: Humanitarian Aid

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she will set out further details on the £120 million humanitarian aid package the UK government has committed to Ukraine.

James Cleverly: The UK has now pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to support a well-coordinated and well-funded response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and the region. We have already disbursed funding to humanitarian agencies in Ukraine this financial year as well as enabled the delivery of life-saving UK medical supplies; committed £25 million to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal, which has now raised over £130 million; and enabled the deployment of a 13-person field team of humanitarian experts to the region to provide logistics advice and analysis of the evolving refugee situation and needs. This analysis will inform further funding disbursements both within this financial year and next.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Development Aid

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how much and what proportion of his Department's spending in response to the conflict in Ukraine will be accounted for as Official Development Assistance.

James Heappey: At this stage, The Ministry of Defence has not committed to use Official Development Assistance funds in response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Armed Conflict: Explosives

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's position is on the upcoming UN-backed political declaration on restricting the use of wide area effect explosive weapons in populated areas.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in the context of the recent report of the International Committee of the Red Cross outlining the risks to civilians of urban airstrikes, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to restrict the use of wide area effect explosive weapons in urban areas.

James Heappey: Restricting the use of explosive weapons in urban areas beyond the clear and robust framework that International Humanitarian Law already sets would reduce the UK's ability to operate legitimately and responsibly, potentially putting our operations or personnel at risk. We will continue to be actively involved in the political declaration process and assess the merits of the text once its final form is known.

Armed Forces: Ukraine

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on providing the Ukrainian army with (a) body armour and (b) other personal protective equipment.

James Heappey: We are committed to donating further quantities of personal protective equipment to Ukraine. This equipment is drawn from stockpiles and all options are being considered which do not adversely impact on the UK's own reserves.To date, the UK has provided some 3,000 sets of body armour to Ukraine. We have also provided 2,000 helmets, 4,000 cold weather boots and 75,000 ear defenders.We continue to work with Allies and partners to prioritise and coordinate the provision and delivery of defensive aid in response to Ukrainian requests for assistance. We will continue to do all we can to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Nuclear Weapons: Testing

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) digital and (b) physical copies his Department holds of the 1988 National Radiological Protection Report Board Report, Mortality and cancer incidence in UK participants in UK atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and experimental programmes.

Leo Docherty: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This report is some thirty-four years old, pre-dating the advent of widespread electronic filing, and over the intervening decades copies held by the Ministry of Defence may since have been filed, archived, placed in storage etc. making it impractical to give a definitive answer without incurring disproportionate cost recalling and searching records.The report was originally published in the British Medical Journal, and is publicly available via the National Archives at the following link:https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20140714112415/http:/www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1281953945227

Visits Abroad

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his declaration of ministerial travel published on 27 January, whether the total cost to the public purse of his overseas accommodation, meals, visas and other expenses excluding travel between 11 and 23 July 2021 was £1,766.68; and if he will publish an itemised breakdown of those costs.

Mr Ben Wallace: Ministerial expenses and hospitality associated with business trips are reported and broken down as part of its transparency disclosures available on gov.uk. I can confirm the  £6,687.68 figure was for accommodation, meals, visas and other expenses excluding travel between 11 and 23 July 2021

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit: Performing Arts

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of the Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 on performing arts practitioners.

Mims Davies: We have no evidence to suggest that this change will impact the performing arts sector or performing arts practitioners any differently from any other sector. The Regulations in question have introduced changes impacting only those claimants entitled to limit their job search to a preferred sector for a limited time. This period (known as the “permitted period”) has been reduced to a maximum of four weeks. The permitted period is available at the discretion of a Work Coach and only claimants with substantial experience in a certain sector/occupation or at a level of remuneration are eligible. After this period, such claimants will be expected to broaden their job search activity to include any suitable job at or above national minimum wage or national living wage that they are capable of, that can support them while they pursue any longer-term career options.These changes are part of the Way to Work campaign to move half a million job-ready claimants into work by the end of June 2022. Way to Work also means that we are giving new claimants more time with their Work Coach and bringing employers into our jobcentres in order to quickly move claimants into work.

Workplace Pensions: Fees and Charges

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's consultation on exempting performance fees from the consumer price cap on pensions used for automatic enrolment, what assessment she has made of the potential for member detriment as a result of fund managers or pension providers changing their fee structures to add new performance-related fees or increase existing performance fees.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the proportion of infrastructure funds whose fees cannot be accommodated within the existing consumer price cap on pensions.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's Pension Charges Survey 2020, what assessment she has made of the proportion of pension contribution schemes that plan to make allocations to real assets but are unable to do so as a result of the existing consumer price cap of 0.75 per cent in the context of the findings of that survey that average fees were 0.29 per cent in single employer schemes and 0.48 per cent in multi-employer schemes.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the ability of high-charging fund managers to (a) lower and (b) restructure their fee arrangements to accommodate their products within the existing consumer price cap on pensions.

Guy Opperman: The charge cap has been and continues to be successful in achieving its objective to protect members from poor value for money charges. In 2020, I committed to the continued existence of the charge cap. At the same time, I am determined to make it easier for pension schemes to invest in illiquid assets and get better outcomes for savers. The Pension Charges Survey 2020 showed that two thirds of defined contribution schemes had zero direct investments in illiquid assets – which include infrastructure and green energy projects and venture capital investments which have the potential to achieve long-term benefits to savers. The survey also highlighted that when it came to diversifying the investment portfolio the performance fees that often form part of many of the opportunities within illiquid asset classes were seen as one of the barriers. In November 2021, I launched a consultation entitled ‘Enabling investment in productive finance’ to explore whether the removal of well-designed performance fees from the regulatory charge cap would improve member outcomes in the long-term by making it easier to pay such fees when investing in illiquid assets. A fundamental part of this is also ensuring trustees can exercise their fiduciary duty and protect members from high and unfair charges. There is no compulsion to pay performance fees but if trustees believe that there is an opportunity to improve member outcomes, we do not want to hold them back from seizing this. We received 54 responses to the consultation from pension schemes, asset managers, consumer rights groups and others on the impact our proposal would have on member protection and in helping to deliver better outcomes for pension savers. This included evidence of the impact any changes would have. We aim to publish a summary of the input and the views we received, as well as the Government’s proposed next steps in the coming weeks as part of a wider set of proposals and reform that the Government plans to bring forward to help pension scheme trustees access as wide a range of assets as possible.

Industrial Accidents

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many internal process reviews her Department has (a) started and (b) completed on incidences of death or serious harm since July 2019.

Chloe Smith: The Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) that have been started since July 2019, are as follows: Death*123Serious Harm**34 The IPRs that have been completed since July 2019, are as follows: Death*103Serious Harm**28 * Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Trapping

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government's Action Plan for Animal Welfare, published May 2021, when he plans to launch a call for evidence on the use of snares.

Rebecca Pow: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 8 March 2022, PQ 129154.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of how many and what proportion of local authorities (a) charge and (b) have stopped charging for green bin collections.

Jo Churchill: There are currently 221 waste collection authorities (67% of all local authorities) in England that charge to collect garden waste from households. The percentage of waste collection authorities that charge to collect garden waste has remained roughly the same over the past three years. We do not hold data on whether any specific waste collection authorities have stopped charging for garden waste collections in recent years.

Ammonia: Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the formal process is for an adjustment application and adjustments to be applied for the UK to become compliant with the 2020 emission ceiling for ammonia under each of (a) the National Emission Ceilings Regulations 2018 and (b) the Gothenburg Protocol.

Jo Churchill: For the purposes of our international obligation, the circumstances in which an adjustment to the emission inventory can be made are set out in Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) Executive Body decision 2012/3. The formal process for an adjustment application is set out in CLRTAP Executive Body decision 2012/12. Both decisions can be found at https://unece.org/decisions. Regulation 4 of the National Emission Ceilings Regulations sets out that the Secretary of State may prepare an adjusted inventory of emissions if the conditions for applying an adjustment, set out in the Regulations, are met.

Pigs

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to clear the backlog of pigs on UK farms due to the shortage of butchers to avoid more animals being killed and disposed of.

Victoria Prentis: We continue to work closely with the pig industry to help them respond to challenges caused by a combination of factors, including the pandemic and the loss of the Chinese export market for certain processing plants, disruption to CO2 supplies and a temporary shortage of labour in the processing sector, which together have led to a growing backlog of pigs on farms. We are very much aware of the impact that the need to cull pigs has on those individual farmers affected. We have therefore provided a package of measures to help address these unique circumstances, which includes temporary work visas for pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment (SIP) schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs. Together with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and other Government Departments, we are working to both expand existing overseas markets and to identify new export markets for pork, particularly lightly processed pork. We are also working with industry to support their efforts on the recruitment and retention of domestic workers. I have chaired two Roundtables – on 10 February and 3 March - with representatives of the pig sector from across the UK. Following discussions with the sector, Defra removed all end destination requirements for pigs processed through the SIP scheme, a change which has encouraged further take up of this measure. I also met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive.

Home Office

Refugees: Hotels

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees from bridging hotels were resettled in each week in each of the last two months.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact on Afghan refugees of residing in bridging hotels for more than six months under Operation Warm Welcome.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's criteria are for prioritising Afghan refugees for resettlement.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of being accommodated in bridging hotels based away from communities on the ability of Afghan refugees to settle.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Hotels

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set a time limit for the period of time a refugee spends in a bridging hotel.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Immigration: Russia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Tier 1 Investor visas and (b) grants of indefinite leave to remain status issued to Russian nationals have been revoked or rescinded.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Overseas Students: Ukraine

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will issue visas for international students who had been living in Ukraine but have had to leave as a result of the Russian invasion of that country.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the (a) number of Afghan nationals resettled under the ACRS who have higher education qualifications and (b) proportion of that number who acquired those qualifications in the UK.

Kevin Foster: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which organisations his Department considers are local partners that should (a) be consulted and (b) help local authorities deliver UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding to the communities that need it most; and whether a list of local partners will be published in the prospectus.

Neil O'Brien: A list of local partners will be included in the prospectus (which is being published later this spring) which will be a guide for local authorities.Currently, each lead local authority is encouraged to start identifying a diverse range of local stakeholders, appropriate groups and organisations to represent cross-sector voices.

Farmers: Markets

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to help protect historic farmers markets from closure.

Neil O'Brien: The Department engages regularly at official level with the retail markets industry on a range of joint issues affecting markets through the Retail Markets Forum. The Farm Retail Association, which represents farm shops and farmers' markets, is a member of the Forum.The Government has made permanent the permitted development right, initially introduced as a time-limited right as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, that enables markets to be held by or on behalf of local authorities for an unlimited number of days. The right will help local authorities to encourage economic activity, thereby creating employment and improving the vitality and viability of high streets and town centres.The Government has provided a comprehensive package of around £400 billion of direct support to the economy during this financial year and last, which has helped to safeguard jobs, businesses and public services in every region and nation of the UK. This package includes business grants, the coronavirus loan schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, as well as deferral of income tax payments. Market traders have been able to benefit from this support package for businesses.Our £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund announced in the Levelling Up White Paper will be used to restore local pride across the UK by focusing investment on improving communities and place, people and skills, and supporting local business. Local leaders will be empowered to direct funding towards their own, locally identified priorities, whether that be promoting new outdoor markets, reducing litter, graffiti and anti-social behaviour, reviving high streets, supporting local businesses or introducing skills provision to match local labour market need and support those furthest from the labour market.Ultimately we believe it is for local authorities, not central Government, to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas.

Aerials: Planning Permission

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the reforms to planning laws announced in the press release of 7 March 2022 entitled New laws to end mobile coverage no bar blues, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure that residents retain the ability to have a say over the deployment of new or upgraded 5G masts.

Stuart Andrew: Details of planned reforms to planning laws for mobile network infrastructure are set out in the Government Response to a technical consultation on changes to permitted development rights for electronic communications infrastructure. This response was published alongside the press release on 7 March 2022.The response sets out that all new ground-based masts will require prior approval of the local planning authority or, for larger masts, full planning permission. Through this process the local authority will consult local communities to ensure their considerations on siting and design are taken into account. Prior approval is also required for larger alterations or deployment.Alongside the government response, we published a new Code of Practice for wireless network development. which sets out guidance for Mobile Network Operators and infrastructure providers, their agents and contractors, local planning authorities, and all other relevant stakeholders in England. This provides a stronger focus on the siting and design of wireless infrastructure and the process for engaging with local authorities and communities.

National House Building Council

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent public body with responsibility for building warranty, building site inspection and the other functions of the National House Building Council (NHBC) and other warranty providers in the context of recent reports that the National House Building Council approved combustible materials without scrutinising them.

Stuart Andrew: With a view to giving home buyers greater protection, we are considering carefully whether specific requirements around new build warranties are needed.

Second Homes: Cumbria

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of second homes in Cumbria between 2010 and 2022.

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the number of second homes in Cumbria in each year between 2010 and 2022.

Stuart Andrew: The Department collects data on second homes classified for the purposes of council tax at the local authority district level on an annual basis, which can then be aggregated to cover the area of Cumbria.The time series can be compiled from the published local authority level datasets which can be found at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/council-taxbase-statisticsfor each year. Line 11 relates to second homes and the local authority level can be found in the ‘Data’ tab. The latest data is taken from a snapshot in October 2021.

Elections: Campaigns

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to Answer of 7 March 2022 to Question 905919, which provisions in the Elections Bill strengthen the controls against ineligible foreign spending on electoral campaigning.

Kemi Badenoch: Part 4 of the Elections Bill will restrict all third-party campaigning at elections (above a £700 de minimis) to UK-based (or otherwise eligible) campaigners. This measure will work to stop ineligible foreign spending on electoral campaigning.

Tree Preservation Orders

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Tree Protection Orders there are in (a) Malvern Hills District, (b) Worcestershire and (c) each local authority in England.

Stuart Andrew: The Department does not hold the requested information. This information is held by the relevant local authorities so they should be contacted directly.

Refugees: Ukraine

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what requirements his Department is putting in place for people who are offering accommodation to Ukrainian refugees.

Eddie Hughes: I refer the Hon Member to the Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament of 14 March 2022.

Leasehold: Property Management Companies

Stuart Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help ensure that property agents are (a) suitably qualified and (b) accountable to leaseholders.

Eddie Hughes: The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for tenants and homeowners and making sure that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents (letting, estate and managing agents), protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector, including on codes of practice for property agents.The Government is considering the recommendations in the final report on the regulation of property agents from Lord Best’s working group, including on qualifications. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.Leaseholders have a range of powers to hold a property agent to account. They may complain directly to the agent, and then to the relevant Government-approved redress scheme to which a property agent must belong. They may also apply for an Order to the First-tier Tribunal under Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 to change their managing agent if they are unhappy with the service that they are receiving.

Housing: Valuation

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the value of homes that have non-cladding related fire safety defects since 14 February 2022.

Stuart Andrew: The Department has not made any assessments of the trends in the value of homes that have non-cladding related fired safety defects.

Infrastructure: Regional Planning and Development

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the role for infrastructure is in delivering the missions set out in the Levelling Up White Paper.

Neil O'Brien: Infrastructure plays an important role in levelling up. The White Paper provides a clear plan to level up every corner of the UK, underpinned by 12 ambitious missions. These include that by 2030, local public transport connectivity across the country will be significantly closer to the standards of London, with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing We have announced a comprehensive programme of policies including a commitment to £4.8 billion infrastructure investment in towns across the UK via the Levelling Up Fund. This will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.

Regional Planning and Development: Sustainable Development

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the levelling up missions set out in the Levelling Up White Paper will align with the targets the Government has committed to under the Sustainable Development Goals.

Neil O'Brien: The UK remains committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, and all government departments have responsibility for aspects of the SDGs that relate to their policy remits. At the same time, the Levelling Up White Paper has set out 12 ambitious new missions - also with a 2030 time horizon - that are targeted, measurable and time-bound declarations of the progress needed to achieve levelling up.There are a number of helpful parallels between the levelling up missions and the SDGs. As well as specific overlaps in areas such as education, skills, health and inequality, both the missions and the goals can only be achieved through long-term, concerted action across central and local government, the private sector and civil society. Robust monitoring and accountability is a crucial part of this; in addition to welcoming ongoing scrutiny through established Parliamentary mechanisms, the Government will introduce a statutory obligation to report annually on progress towards meeting the Levelling Up missions.

Parking: Unpaid Fines

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will take steps to investigate the methods debt collection agencies use to pursue unpaid parking fines.

Neil O'Brien: The Government is concerned about the fees and practices of some parking debt recovery agencies. On 7 February 2022 we published a draft Private Parking Code of Practice to improve the private parking sector. The Code and its enforcement framework will prevent parking operators from adding additional fees on top of the amount of the parking charge. We are also prohibiting the use of misleading and intimidatory language in communications and introducing greater protection for vulnerable customers. This includes a requirement on operators to provide information to motorists on where they can find free debt counselling or legal advice services. We intend to review the policy as part of the general review of the Code of Practice, within two years of its implementation.

Scotland Office

Tree Planting: Scotland

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that organisations in Scotland are able to participate in its programmes to expand tree planting.

Mr Alister Jack: Forestry is a devolved area of responsibility. However, the UK Government continually engages with the Scottish Government to realise our high ambitions for increasing planting across the UK. We are confident that we are on track to meet the UK-wide target of planting 30,000ha per year by the end of this Parliament.All of the administrations play a part in delivering the programme and to share best practice and work together on cross-border projects. In fact, Scottish Forestry is leading the review of the UK Forestry Standard, which sets out the UK’s approach to sustainable forest management, and the report is due for publication in late 2022.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Location

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what environmental factors the (a) Government Property Agency and (b) his Department have considered in assessing the suitability of locations for Government hubs.

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg: A location’s potential to be a Government Hub is assessed against the following: Climate Resilience, Climate Adaptation, Flood Risk, Biodiversity and Sustainability.The GPA adheres to the Government Buying Standards, which sets minimum acceptable Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ratings, which are applied across the Government Hubs programme. These are summarised as:BREEAM New Construction 2018 at 70% or Excellent rating, orBREEAM Non-Domestic Refurbishment and Fit-Out 2014 at 55% or Very Good rating.

Cabinet Office: Training

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Like all government departments, the Cabinet Office has access to relevant learning from the Government Campus (formerly known as Civil Service Learning), which includes:i) It’s your time to act: Net Zeroii) Leaders, it’s your time to lead: Net Zero The Cabinet Office does not have its own specific training programme.

Civil Service: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Skills Curriculum Unit's Government Campus Curriculum will contain modules on skills and knowledge for transitioning the Civil Service to net-zero.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Yes. The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for government. In the first phase, the Government Skills & Curriculum Unit (GSCU) is working with other Departments (including BEIS, DEFRA and FCDO) to create an awareness level training resource for all civil servants. This will be piloted from April 2022. In the next phases, GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific Functions and Professions, and will signpost the training and other resources on Net Zero which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels by government Departments.

Government Skills and Curriculum Unit: Trade Unions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has consulted the recognised relevant unions on the formation of the Government Campus by the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Head of the Government Skills and Curriculum Unit met with the recognised trade unions on Monday 14 March to discuss the aims and progress of the Government Campus programme and they have agreed to meet biannually. Prior to this, discussion of the skills agenda has been part of conversations with union representatives about modernisation and reform, and civil service human resources.

Infected Blood Compensation Framework Study

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Infected Blood Compensation Framework Study will be published to recognised legal representatives and core participants after it is completed on 14 March 2022.

Damien Moore: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of publishing the infected blood compensation framework report by Sir Robert Francis QC by 14 March 2022 or on its receipt.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS681, made on 15 March.

Department for International Trade

Meat: Australia and New Zealand

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2022 to Question 132234, for what reason sheep meat imports under the terms of the trade deal with Australia measured in product weight whilst sheep meat imports under the terms of the New Zealand trade deal are measured in carcass weight.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

World Trade Organisation: Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on taking steps to potentially exclude Russia from the WTO until they withdraw fully from Ukraine.

Penny Mordaunt: At the WTO, the Government has condemned the actions of the Russian Federation and shown solidarity with the Government and people of Ukraine. We are working closely with like-minded partners to take steps to marginalise Russia and to deprive the Russian government of the benefits of WTO membership. We are aware that discussions are taking place about the possible mechanisms to expel Russia from the WTO. We will continue to explore with allies the full range of economic, diplomatic, and political options.

Department for International Trade: Information Officers

Alyn Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many communications staff are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) with flexible working arrangements in her Department.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade (DIT) employed 100 Civil Servants within the Communications and Marketing directorate as of 31 January 2022. In addition to the usual communications functions, DIT also has a crucial role in driving and generating business, trade and investment for UK business. Marketing campaigns led by the department in the UK and around the world promote British goods and services, and secure investment into the UK. DIT is committed to supporting a variety of flexible working patterns, meaning that staff work several different patterns including full-time, part-time, flexitime and job-sharing. As part of DIT’s Smarter Working approach, hybrid working is also available to DIT employees.

Department for International Trade: M and C Saatchi

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how much her Department spent on corporate services provided by M&C Saatchi (UK) Ltd in 2021.

Penny Mordaunt: M&S Saatchi are the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) contracted marketing strategy and creative agency. The contract is published here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/d8f999e8-afee-4400-9cf7-254f654dd6a4?origin=SearchResults&p=1 DIT spent £2,596,883 in 2021 and an additional £134,406 was spent on sub-contracted work to other agencies through M&C Saatchi. £3,862,432 was spent in relation to Cabinet Office funded activity; however, this is not DIT expenditure.

Trade: Monitoring

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will list the macroeconomic measures her Department tracks to assess the UK’s trade performance; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Freer: The list of top-level metrics the Department for International Trade (DIT) uses to assess performance on its priority outcomes was published in the Department’s 2021-22 Outcome Delivery Plan (ODP) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-outcome-delivery-plan/dit-outcome-delivery-plan-2021-to-2022). The list of priority outcomes and metrics was updated as part of the 2021 Spending Review (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1029277/Supplementary_Document_on_Outcomes_Metrics.pdf) and will be restated in our 2022-23 ODP. DIT publishes an assessment of performance annually as part our Annual Report and Accounts, including on macroeconomic indicators (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-international-trade-annual-report-and-accounts).

Department for International Trade: Social Clubs

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will provide a list of (a) professional staff networks and (b) social clubs operating within his Department; and if she will provide the (i) budgets and (ii) FTE staff time allocated to each group within each of the last three years.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department for International Trade (DIT) staff networks offer valuable peer support, raise awareness of the needs of staff, influence departmental policy and shape issues that cut across the diversity agenda such as career progression, leadership and culture. DIT has 11 professional staff networks.Staff networks budget allocation aligns to network activity and the DIT Inclusion Framework. Allocation of funds is proportionate to network size and reviewed annually. The total budget for networks was £7000 in FY 20/21 and 21/22 and for FY19/20 it was £5090. Time allocated to staff network activity is agreed with line managers as a corporate contribution as part of the performance management process.DIT staff may organise social groupings of their own volition; social clubs are not funded by DIT, and staff do not use contracted time to pursue or lead these activities. Therefore, there is no central monitoring of these activities.

Trade Agreements: Belarus and Russia

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of revoking preferential trading partner status from a) Russia and (b) Belarus.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK has announced a range of economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus, including denying both countries access to Most Favoured Nation tariffs for hundreds of their exports. £900 million of imported goods from Russia and Belarus will now face an additional 35 percent tariff. We will continue to explore the full range of economic, diplomatic, and political options in co-operation with partners.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Charity Commission: Public Appointments

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any relevant interests were declared by Orlando Fraser, the Government’s preferred candidate for the role of Chair of the Charity Commission.

Nigel Huddleston: This process, to appoint the Chair of the Charity Commission, was run in line with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. As part of the application process (and as per the Governance Code), all candidates are required to complete a conflict of interest form which must be discussed with the candidate at interview. There were no conflicts of interest declared that would preclude Orlando Fraser from taking up post as Chair of the Charity Commission.